


Danny Phantom Reversal

by The_Smiling_Crow



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Creepypasta Character References, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, I couldn't help myself, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Resurrection, TBH I never really liked the title all that much...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27304612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Smiling_Crow/pseuds/The_Smiling_Crow
Summary: Everyone knows what happened when Danny Fenton became Danny Phantom, but what would have happened if Phantom became Fenton... again...
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Original 2014 AN: Hello . This will be my first long fanfic of hopefully many. [Oh, you naive younger self, if only you knew]
> 
> I was toying with this idea and wrote out the first few chapters early in October, but college midterms and finals prevented me from actually getting around to posting until now. Plus, the added incentive of a recent fanfic of a similar concept helped spur me along into it.
> 
> Per usual;
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.
> 
> …after a bunch of fanfictions doing that it seems more reasonable for the site to just put that on its cover screen "NO ONE HERE OWNS ANYTHING!". Oh well.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Rated K+ for references to death and suicide (not Danny's, don't worry). Possible mild blood and violence in later chapters. [Yeah, that didn't turn out. See the 'Teen' rating today]
> 
> ~0_0~
> 
> 2020 AN: Hello, AO3 users! My name is Crow, I've been posting this story on Fanfiction for years now and completely forgot about this AO3 account until recently. I decided to try out this format and I like some parts of it, so I decided as a Halloween thing, I'd cross-post a couple stories for fun!  
> Hope you enjoy!  
> -Crow

Danny Phantom zoomed through the endless green swirls of the Ghost Zone. Familiar, purple doors flew in and out of his vision. His neon green eyes focused ahead as his white hair flew around wildly in a nonexistent wind. He always wondered why it did that…it's not like the Ghost Zone has air…huh.

Anyway, he had just gotten back from Technus' lair for an order his parents made. On his way back, he made a quick trip to Skulker's to pick up a soldering kit his dad let the cyborg hunter borrow for his suit. He currently had the objects jumbling together in an old sack cloth over his back.

He kept going until he approached a familiar hunk of rock floating in the green space. It was a simple two story building without many discernible features, save for the large saucer on top that said "F-nt- nWo-" in broken neon lights. The rest was destroyed in the same blast that took out the rest of the house's windows and a few chunks of charred wall.

He floated to the front door and opened it like the door was real. Everyone knew non-portal doors were mostly just for show. Any ghost could phase right through that in an instant. It was mostly just a courtesy or a habit that they enjoyed.

"Hey Mom! Dad! I'm home!" He shouted. He heard a muffled reply in the basement and headed down with the sack. His mother was currently soldering some circuits on a lab bench while his father was busy welding together some odd bits of metal.

He looked over the rest of the lab. Beakers and test tubes lay strewn about haphazardly. A few screens were wired together, displaying images ranging from graphs of electromagnetic flux and readouts of particle emission to security cam footage of convenience stores and home video footage.

He always laughed at that one.

Unlike most in the Ghost Zone, his nuclear family actually stuck together and remembered bits of their past. Not a lot, but more than most. In life, his parents had been obsessed with science; especially physics. They would always be doing random experiments in the basement to get things going. His sister Jazz was obsessed with getting into college and earning a psychology degree, so it made sense when you thought about it.

When his sister died, she was devastated about being cut-off from college before her time. Her obsession is scholastic knowledge and psychology. In a way, she's like Spectra, but younger and… sane.

When his parents died, they became fascinated with ghosts and the inter-dimensional relations between the Human Realm and the Ghost Zone. That was their obsession; discovery and exploration.

Though, no one was sure _how_ they died…

Since the Ghost Zone was free game, they spent their energies looking into the relationship between worlds. Typical, they ignore the Human World when they were alive and when they die, they're obsessed with it. Always wanting the thing out of reach…

…at the time.

It took decades of research and experiments, but they compiled their data and discovered a relationship between the worlds. They discovered that, like Natural Portals, they could induce a bridge between worlds. Hence, their greatest invention currently stuck right into a wall on the opposite side of the lab.

The Portal.

They had been working nonstop on it, asking him to run errands or pick up parts every now and then. For instance, they'd just asked him to pick up the pieces from Technus.

The teenaged ghost cleared his throat and the welding and "bzzt"ing sounds stopped as both parents looked over to him.

His father wore his usual orange HAZMAT suit and had some red welding goggles for the job at hand. He pulled up the goggles over his black and white close-cropped hair to look up at Danny. He had a greenish tinge to the ghostly aura around him.

His mom, Maddie, pulled up her goggles and hood of her teal HAZMAT suit, revealing her bright red hair. She had a blue-green tinge to the aura around her. She smiled as she noticed her son standing at the foot of the stairs. "Welcome home, Sweetie. How was Technus?"

"He's fine. He got a virus though."

His dad, Jack, perked up at that. "Excellent. This is just the opportunity we need to try out the new Phantom Virus Sweeper!" He held up a CD and small light rays seemed to radiate from it.

His wife rolled her eyes slightly. "Jack, honey, just because you put our last name in front of everything doesn't necessarily make it unique. That's just that anti-virus software we downloaded and altered to adapt to ectoplasm."

Her husband was not affected. "So? It still takes a genius mind like the Phantoms to come up with something like this. Anyone with Java can make an anti-virus, but one to work on Ghosts?" He brandished the CD again.

Danny chuckled at his family's antics. They couldn't remember their last name all the way, but from the sign out front and vague bits of memory, it sounded like "Phantom", so they adopted that as the new family name. Over the years it stuck and they were known as the Phantoms.

He laid down the sack of components and let his parents rummage through it before heading back upstairs. He passed by his sister's room. She was currently floating a few inches over her bed, reading a book while simultaneously listening to something through her headphones. He often wondered if there was just a CPU under her red hair instead of an ectoplasmic brain. Seriously! How could she remember all of those things?

He kept going into his own ectoplasmically recreated bedroom and plopped himself down on the bed. He stared at the ceiling for a while, bored out of his mind, before getting up and looking at himself in the mirror.

Of all of the family, he was the weird one. He was pretty sure he didn't have white hair or green eyes when he was alive, but he got them instead. Everyone remembered their original appearance and how they kept it as ghosts, but no one could remember Danny's appearance.

If that wasn't enough, he was the only one in his family- no the entire Ghost Zone \- without an obsession. Every ghost had one. From Box Ghost and his boxes to Desiree and her whole Genie thing. No matter what he thought of, he couldn't remember his old life and what drove him then.

His family was great when it came to that. They couldn't quite remember anything of his life either, but they had snippets; a park visit here, a relative there, a favorite toy, etc. He cherished those memories they had managed to congregate together. Even though it was hardly a life (or afterlife) it was alright.

He counted his blessings, though. He had apparently died wearing a HAZMAT suit like his parents, though his was black with white details and white gloves. At least in his old life, he was safety conscience…he hoped.

He lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes. Ghosts hardly need to sleep, but it was an option. It wasn't really sleeping or dreaming, it was mostly like lucid daydreaming.

He dreamed a thousand scenarios, all about one thing;

His life.

He dreamed himself blonde, redhead, brunette, even black-haired. Sometimes blue eyes, other times brown, red or even gold. He had no basis, so he just went over anything that seemed right or seemed cool.

He tried every scenario for a teenager his age; geek, jock, playboy, bad boy, average Joe background character, even runaway. None seemed really right, but it was fun to imagine what a day in "life" for "Danny F-nt-nWo" would have been like.

He even extended it sometimes. He'd go off to college, meet a girl (once, he tried meeting a guy, but it didn't work out), having a family, even dying again. He never liked the last one, but he felt like it was more "complete" that way.

Right now, he had just graduated high school somewhere and accepted a position at a random college. He was shaking the hand of some principal in a suit-

"DANNY! JAZZ! COME QUICK!"

His father's bellowing interrupted his favorite part of the dream, but the urgency in the voice made him sit up. He made his way down to the lab basement with his sister in tow.

His parents were anxiously standing in front of a small control panel. They were beaming widely and practically hopping with anticipation. The last time he saw them this excited, they managed to get a computer to connect to the Human World's internet.

That was actually something worth the excitement. His parents loved chat rooms with real humans and getting in touch with modern development. Jazz loved to Google anything her books couldn't tell her.

Danny mostly liked it for human video games like Doomed.

Currently, these grins were almost identical to that time, if not even more excited.

"So, uh, what's up dad?" Danny ventured.

"We wanted you two here for our greatest accomplishment!" His father boomed excitedly.

"Wait. You mean-"

"That's right, sweetie. We finished the Portal!" Maddie replied. "Our calculations indicate that everything should be alright. Your father and I were just about to rev it up and thought you two should be here too."

Danny and Jazz looked at each other, smiling. They were happy for their parents. All of their work was paying off and they were there to see the results.

Their parents hurried around to the various terminals scattered around the lab; checking screens, reading printouts, and adjusting dials.

"Quantum flux is within parameters."

"The EM field is holding."

"Lower the Beta emission generator, we're getting too much alpha interference."

' _Something's wrong with the containment field.'_

Danny jumped. Neither of his parents said that, but it was clearly in his mother's voice….

Her worried voice.

"I've got a green light on electrical contacts A, B, and D. Still waiting on C."

"C's going to be a while, we rerouted it to E."

' _The EM field is way out of whack_.'

Danny shook his head again.

"Alright! We're a go! Press the button, Mads!"

His mother pressed a button on the main control panel. The lab lit up as terminals showed colorful line graphs and fluctuating bar graphs. Printers spewed out readouts. A few wires sparked here and there as the Portal started to hum with electricity.

_The contact sparked and a klaxon alarm sounded._

' _Jack! Turn up the flux! We're getting too much gamma!'_

' _The system won't respond!'_

The portal got brighter as more electricity flowed into it.

' _There's too much strain on the field!'_

The contacts began to glow green and blue as ecto energy and normal electricity began filling the capacitors.

His parents walked around checking every terminal and grinning as the readouts came up positive.

_Sparks flew as various pipes and wires exploded. Danny could practically feel the energy pulsating through the lab. Arcs of electricity flew around trying to find the source of least resistance._

The contacts inside the portal spun in a green/blue swirl of light.

A few readouts started spewing out from the printer and Jack rushed over to eagerly read them over. He nodded to his wife, who flipped a few more switches.

"It's working, Mads!"

Jazz was looking around, amazed at the scene unfolding.

Danny wasn't quite sure which one was which anymore.

_He collapsed to the ground._

" _DANNY!"_

" _JACK! THE CAPACITOR'S OVERLOADING! IT CAN'T HANDL-"_

_Sparks_

flew across the table and

_beakers exploded from the arcs_

as the contacts whirred to life. The machinery inside

_made a grinding noise as more electricity_

coursed through the wires to the power nodes. The Portal glowed bright

_Red_

And electricity arced inside

_The wavy energy seemed to implode into the center before-_

The energy seemed to swirl in the center before-

…

It fizzled…

…

…

The weird déjà vu moment stopped at that point. They were vastly different from each other, but it had the same weird feel to it. Either way, it seemed like the fizzle did the trick.

Danny doubted he'd seen his parents more stunned. Maddie still had the grin, but it was slowly slipping. Jack maintained his smile, eagerly anticipating the next moment…then almost pleading for the next moment…

Everyone stood awkwardly as the contacts slowed down and died. The readouts stopped and the graphs leveled out. The electricity whirred down to a lower pitch until it was a dull hum.

Jack broke the silence. "Sorry kids…I guess something happened…"

He looked down for a second before shooting right back up.

"Don't worry, kids! This is just a setback! I mean, did you see that?! It was incredible! We are so close, I can taste it like your mother's fudge!" He boomed with renewed vigor.

Maddie seemed to brighten up at her husband's enthusiasm. "You're father's right! Everything went according to plan. I bet we just missed a contact or a switch went faulty."

They eagerly chatted with each other about where to start.

Jazz's eyes suddenly lit up at an opportunity. "Mom, Dad, I bet all you need is a quick break and it'll come to you! Psychology supports the theory of "sleeping on it", so why don't you guys go out somewhere?"

The parents looked thoughtful before nodding. "We could always swing by Technus and tell him the news."

"I heard Pandora has a new Greek restaurant in her realm."

"After that, maybe we can go to that one hill with the perpetual sunset."

The two began whispering future plans to each other, Maddie giggling occasionally. Jazz looked pleased at her psychological suggestion. Danny gagged a bit.

The two scientist ghosts made their way upstairs and said goodbye to their kids as they flew off towards Technus's Lair first.

"OK, Danny. Since I'm in charge, I think it might be fair for you to take charge." Jazz looked over to her brother.

"Say what?"

"I wanted to stop by Spectra's to pick up another book. I know what you think of her, but she's got the best psychological knowledge of anyone short of Clockwork." She explained at Danny's grimace. Danny had a nasty encounter with the misery-leech a decade or so ago and never really let it go. "I'll probably head over to Ghost Writer's library for a while too. Besides, I think you can handle it." She smiled at him reassuringly and he returned it.

He waved her off as she flew into the green void of the Ghost Zone.

So, Danny stood there…

…home alone…

"YES!"

The excited ghost teen flew inside at breakneck speeds and picked up the headphones to the computer. Within seconds, he was logged back on to Doomed and playing with his two cohorts; Fryer-Tuck and Chaos.

_GhostBoy: Good morrow, minions!_

_Fryer-Tuck: GB, what's hangin?_

_Chaos: 'Sup?_

_GhostBoy: My folks and sis are out today. I got the computer all to myself._

_Fryer-Tuck: Way cool, man! You should definitely throw a party!_

_Chaos: Yeah, man. Do you live near Amity?_

_GhostBoy: Never heard of it._

_Chaos: It's this place in Illinois. You should totally come visit sometime!_

_Fryer-Tuck: Yeah, dude! You'd love it! The Nasty Burger is awesome!_

_Ghost Boy: The what?_

_Chaos: A grease-infested eatery dedicated to murdering innocent cows._

_Fryer-Tuck: Aw, Come on, Sam! It's delicious, man!_

_Ghost Boy: Thanks! We don't really have too much out here to do._

_Fryer-Tuck: Cool, man. So, are you planning on coming up?_

_Ghost Boy: No, I live pretty far away. :(_

_Chaos: Where?_

_Ghost Boy: …Canada?..._

_Chaos: That was a question, not an answer. :P_

_Ghost Boy: Look, I'd love to come up there, but I can't. OK?_

_Fryer-Tuck: Alright, dude. I understand, travel's pretty hard these days._

_Chaos: Ork on your left!_

And so, the mighty trio of Chaos, Fryer-Tuck, and Ghost Boy fought valiantly against the pixilated horrors for many moons… or at least until Fryer-Tuck's mom called him down for dinner. Danny logged off for the night and walked around the building.

He never actually appreciated it before. The rooms were pretty much intact, but the walls had scorch marks and some furniture looked like it should be rubble. The only reason the place was still livable was because the broken furniture defied gravity and just held its place as an ectoplasmic replica.

None of his family remembered why the place was how it was-

 _Blue and Green electricity arced through the metal pipes of the lab_.

-but it was probably for the best.

Danny sighed before heading back downstairs, he just realized he never turned off the computer. He walked over to the PC and hit the power button before turning to go back upstairs.

He stopped for a moment.

He looked back over his shoulder.

His parents were adamant that their children couldn't be anywhere near the lab without them in it. He really was interested in the place. It was like a mad scientist lab with more…physics.

He decided to risk it. He walked around the lab, looking at the bubbling green and simmering reds in the beakers and watching an oscilloscope produce a jerky-looking sine graph.

Finally, he saw the Portal. The thing was impressive in itself, but the contact nodes inside were awesome! He let his hand drift on the wall of the portal chamber as he moved further in. It really was-

*click*

He looked down at his hand, currently pressing an odd little button. A familiar whirring sound surrounded him as the contacts began to light up again.

"Oh sh-"

Immediately, an enormous amount of electricity arced between the nodes. His entire field of vision became a white flash. He barely heard himself screaming.

Gigavolts of ecto-energy and electricity fused together at the center- conveniently where his body was. He felt as though he were being torn apart, rebuilt, then decomposed all over again. It was indescribable how much pain and confusion was going through his head.

He barely managed to stumble back as the portal activated. He couldn't resist the pull of the Portal's green spiral and fell right into it.

To him, it seemed instantaneous. There was no catastrophic squeezing or disintegrating feeling like in SciFi shows. One moment he was in his parents' lab, the next somewhere else.

He stumbled blindly in the dark. His dazed mind barely taking in his surroundings. He barely registered the footsteps as a figure walked towards him.

He blacked out.

* * *

Sam Manson was never scared.

That much was common knowledge in Amity Park.

She was the Goth Freak that somehow became friends with the tech nerd Tucker Foley. She was the kind of girl who would glare down bullies in third grade and win.

So, walking in a cemetery shortcut to get home should be a piece of cake. Right?

Wrong.

Normally, she'd feel right at home in the creepy graveyard, but today was different. There was something in the air that night. Something different…

Her train of thought was interrupted by a nearby bush crunching. Her adrenaline skyrocketed as she whirled around to see…

A boy.

He looked completely drunk as he made his way out of the treeline. She was immediately apprehensive about her own safety with some drunk guy, but noticed something different.

She'd seen guys her age drunk. They were always sloshy and laughing, but this one was different. He looked like he was dizzy, yeah, but in the wrong way. He didn't notice her.

She decided to risk it.

"Hey, are you OK?"

He fainted.

She ran up to the black-haired kid in the weird HAZMAT suit currently unconscious in front of her.

She immediately checked his neck.

She was relieved when she found a pulse.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny awakens in the Land of the Living.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original AN: I was so amazed at getting responses so soon for my first two fanfics. Thank you so much for everyone reading. I hope you really enjoy this work as much as I do.
> 
> Happy New Years (Posted Dec 26 or 27, 2014)
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.
> 
> 2020 AN: I apologize for the delay. Life kept coming at me and this just kept getting pushed in the back of my mind. Still, kind of neat that I publish this exactly 6 years from the original posting. I didn't even realize it until I copy-pasted the date for this AN. Fancy that!  
> -Crow

Danny opened his eyes, blinking blearily in the light. He slowly adjusted to the relatively dim room and started taking in his surroundings. From what he could tell, he was in either a live-in funeral parlor, a witch's home, or a glorified tomb.

Black and purple seemed to be the dominant color palate. The walls were black and dark grey with Victorian floral designs. The bookshelves held a number of ominous tomes and some supernatural fiction along with a few voodoo dolls and what looked like a sheep's skull. By the shelves was a comfy, winged reading chair. There was a bed in the corner. It had an old-fashioned four-post curtain design. Needless to say, the curtains were purple and the sheets were black.

He started to edge more towards the witch theory.

He saw a purple-curtained window and peeked outside. He was surprised at the ambiance. He had expected some desolate moor, an eerie Count-Dracula-esque ravine with a single road up, maybe even a swamp or something. He would never have guessed he'd be in an upscale mansion district; much less, one with a rose-garden-white-pillar-everything's-awesome atmosphere to it.

He looked out at the street in front of him. Every home was a pristine, white, Columbian-esque mansion with perfectly manicured lawns and flower gardens trimmed to an over-glorified state. A large pond was nearby with picturesque reeds, ducks, and a bench. The water glittered under the moonlight-

Wait. _Moonlight_.

He looked up and gasped. It wasn't the familiar green swirls and endless doors of the Ghost Zone. It was a complete night sky with a beautiful, white, full moon and honest-to-God stars!

He was in the human world! His parents' portal worked!

His moment of excitement quickly died down.

His parents invention worked…

…

…

"How am I going to get back?" He mumbled to himself. As far as he could tell, there wasn't a portal on this side of the world and for all he knew, the portal they built on that side was a one-way trip.

He started pacing the grim room nervously. Where was he? Where did he arrive? Would a portal still be there? Is it possible for him to get back? Who brought him here?

Desperate for answers, he decided that he needed to get out of here first. He crouched down to fly and phase out through the wall. He jumped-

And smacked headfirst into it.

He rolled on the floor grasping his head in pain-

Wait. _Pain_.

He barely started to process this when he heard footsteps approach. He looked up at the door in time for it to slam open and a teenage girl stepped in. She was a mirror of her room style; all black, short skirt, combat boots, dark makeup. Danny remembered Jazz making a theory on people like this. "Goths".

"Are you okay?" She asked him. He looked stunned for a moment, not expecting concern or care in her voice. In all honesty, he'd expected something more of an angst-ridden response. He nodded his head.

"What was that crash?" She continued. She looked up at her wall, now sporting a small crack where Danny slammed into it. "Did you seriously break my wall?"

Danny shrunk a bit at her anger, but mumbled apologetically. She eased up a bit and went over to grab his arm. He flinched at the contact, but allowed her to direct him over to the comfy reading chair.

He sat down in it and waited while she pulled up another chair next to him. She sat down and looked at Danny over before speaking up.

"Hey."

"…hey…"

They stared at each other, waiting for the next move. This conversation wasn't going far.

"…my name's Sam. It's short for Samantha, but never call me that." She smiled a bit. It was sincere.

"…Danny…" He replied. "Danny Phan-ton" He mumbled at the last bit, doubting "Phantom" was a normal last name.

"Danny Fenton?" She asked, piecing together the syllables she could.

Danny nodded immediately. Not just for the quick escape, but because Danny Fenton sounded…right…

"Okay. Are you from around here? I've never seen you before."

He shook his head.

"Oh… Okay." She waited a bit, explaining a better explanation, but sighed when he stayed quiet.

"Alright, I'll skip to it then. What were you doing in the cemetery tonight and why did you pass out? You seem fine, so I assumed there were no drugs involved and you don't smell like alcohol."

He perked up a bit at that. "I seem fine?" He suddenly doubted this girl's medical capabilities. 'Fine' isn't what he'd expect humans to call someone dead.

"Yeah, I mean you feel really cold, but your heart rate seemed pretty okay even though it was a bit slow-"

"Wait. WHAT?!" He jumped up and looked around the room. He spotted a black vanity against the wall and rushed over to the mirror.

He almost passed out again.

His white hair was raven black.

His green eyes were now an icy blue.

He slowly put his trembling hand up to his chest.

_Ba-Bump_.

…

He backed away in complete shock. He managed to make it back to the chair before a complete mind-fog took over.

* * *

Sam Manson, meanwhile, was extremely worried for this kid's health. First, he was passing out in random graveyards. Now, he was pretty much shut down after looking at his reflection.

She noticed his lips moving slightly and she leaned in to hear him whispering a mantra. "I'm alive. I'm alive. I'm alive. I'm alive."

Now she was seriously freaking out. What was wrong with this kid? Maybe she should've just taken him to the hospital. She jumped as she heard a knock at the door.

Panicking, she took the still mind-numb boy and stuffed him in her closet. She brushed herself off to make herself seem more normal before going over to the door.

Her fears were instantly relieved as she saw the familiar, wrinkled face of Ida Manson, her grandmother.

"Grandma! Oh thank God. I thought it was my parents for a second."

"Don't worry, dearie. Those two are still downstairs. You know how absorbed your mother gets when she finds a new recipe. Your father is on a conference call, so I think he'll be out for a few hours. I heard a crash, though. Is everything alright?"

"Not really, grandma. I have a serious problem." The old woman's brows furrowed as she drove her moped further into the room. Her granddaughter shut the door, walked to her closet, and opened the door. To her surprise, a young boy fell out onto the floor. "Don't worry, Grandma. He's fine- I think. He's just in some kinda shock."

Sam hoisted the young lad onto her reading chair again and Ida saw that he was, in fact, awake but had a thousand-mile-stare that could rival some of her senior friends' Vietnam PTSD. She motored her way over to the two chairs and calmly said "Alright, Sam. Please tell me everything."

Sam explained to her grandmother how she found this kid, what happened at the cemetery, and how she brought him home. She finished off her story with his odd episode after seeing his reflection. Ida remained silent throughout the explanation.

"So, this Danny… Fenton, yes?" Sam nodded. Ida's eyes narrowed a bit. "So, you found young Danny and brought him here to make sure he'd be alright?" Another nod.

"It seemed like the only thing I could think of." Ida nodded understandingly.

"Well, dearie, aside from some issue with his reflection, I'd think he's fine. I lived through the 60's. I've seen what drugs do to people and this hardly seems like an after-affect of anything I've ever heard of." She stopped when she saw the young boy blink. His blue eyes started going back into focus and he slowly became aware of his surroundings.

"…wha….where….huh?" He still seemed a bit out-of-it. Ida smiled warmly at the confused boy.

"Hello, Daniel. My name is Ida Manson. I'm Samantha's grandmother." Sam didn't mind her grandmother using her full name. "Can you tell us anything about yourself? Are you alright?"

He nodded his head and his gaze sharpened with a plan. "A-actually, I've got to go. I'm sure my parents are worried about me. Could you tell me how to get back to the cemetery? I think I can find my way back from there."

"Are you sure you don't want me to just drive you, dearie? I may be old, but I can still work a car."

"No, I think I've caused enough worry for now. Thank you so much for everything." Ida relayed directions to get to the cemetery and he jotted them down on a notecard from Sam just in case. He got up and Sam escorted him to the front door, avoiding her parents along the way.

She watched him go down her street following the card's directions.

She walked up to her bedroom to find her grandmother looking out her window. The old woman's gaze was sharp and concerned as she followed the young man's progress.

"Daniel Fenton…" She murmured. "What a coincidence."

* * *

Danny kept going down the streets. Everything was quiet and no one was out, so he wasn't too worried about being mugged. It wasn't like he had anything on him anyways.

He walked past the landmarks listed on the notecard as he went on his way back. His only hope was that, somehow, there was a return portal at the graveyard, otherwise, he'd be here for a while.

The entire time, he kept processing things in his head. _He was alive!_ His only thought was the Portal accident, but he had no idea how that was even possible. Maybe his parents would help him out…

_No!_ a small voice in his head shouted. He shuddered at the thought. His parents were obsessed with anything human, ghost, or otherwise. He worried that their obsession would overrule any parental emotions they have for Danny _Phantom_.

He suddenly felt very alone…

And scared.

It was times like these that he wished he could have a cinnamon bun or something- wait, where'd that come from?

He stopped and processed that stray thought. Cinnamon buns? His mouth watered slightly (it felt weird after being dead for so long) at the prospect of… what? He couldn't quite remember tastes and food in the Ghost Zone was a bit different from food in the mortal plane.

Still, he decided to entertain the thought.

'It was times like these that I wish I could have a cinnamon bun or something from that bakery on Krueger Street.' He was a bit confused. Krueger street? What was-

He suddenly looked around for the first time in a while, suddenly very aware of his surroundings.

He looked over to his left and saw a sign on a store. _Amity Park Bakery; serving fine confections and pastries since 1956_. He looked up at a nearby street sign.

Krueger Street.

His newfound heartbeat was racing slightly as his mind started wrapping around this new information. He looked around and saw the old buildings around him.

_Aw, they got rid of the arcade? Come on! Who needs some "tofu" place anyhow?_

He jumped at that small blip in his mind. He saw a vegan Chinese restaurant and had a fuzzy picture of that same building, but with bright and colorful posters boasting PacMan, racing games, and Pinball machines.

He slowly looked around. No other buildings jumped out, but street names seemed to be calling to him. He decided to deviate a bit from the card, but note where he was going to backtrack.

He followed the street signs. Krueger to Oak. Oak to Weston. Weston to Heathcliffe. Heathcliffe to-

At the corner of two nearby streets, he felt his heart stop again. His mind blanked as he walked numbly to the corner of Vincent Price Avenue and Specter Street.

Sitting there was a small building. It looked just like all of the buildings around it, save for a few key differences. The once-red/brown bricks had black scorch marks around them. The lawn was dead and overgrown with weeds. Chunks of wall were exposed, revealing mostly destroyed rooms inside.

But what made him stop was an odd UFO-like metal saucer on the top with a familiar neon sign running down it.

"F-nt-nWo-"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny finds a relic of his past and a way back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2021 AN: *vague sounds of soul-shriveling*, I'm cringing as I read these old chapters, honestly. I know 'it's a sign of how you've developed' and all that, but it's very clear I had *no* idea what I was doing and where this was going when I first started.

Danny stared at the familiar building for a while longer. It looked just like it did in the Ghost Zone. He glanced down the streets to make sure no one was around before he made his way to the derelict building.

The door opened on one hinge and he looked around the parlor. Bits of broken furniture were strewn around the entire house and char marks went up every wall. Some marks zigged and zagged in intricate patterns, following unseen pipes in the walls.

The charred floorboards creaked under his weight, but didn't give. He made his way to the moonlit kitchen. He eyed the door in the corner. That led to his parent's basement laboratory in the Ghost Zone…

He opened the door and flipped the light. Nothing. The light had long-since been burnt out. He opened the door futher to let in whatever moonlight in the kitchen and saw that the stairs down had decayed away.

Given his current state of "living", he didn't want to risk anything at the moment. He shut the door, promising to come back one day. His curiosity about the uncanny place remained. He walked carefully to the upstairs level, thankful that the staircase there was sturdier.

He walked past his sister's room and just like in the Ghost Zone, it was filled with books, most still intact from surviving the blast…and a small teddy bear. He paused at that one. Jazz didn't have a teddy bear in her ghost room. He picked it up and inspected it. It had long, white hair in frizzy angles, some geek glasses, and what looked like a white moustache under his button nose.

He tucked it under his arm as he kept going.

Finally, he made it to the end of the hall. He opened the last door and looked inside.

No doubt about it; this was his room.

Everything was the same, right down to the posters on his wall, albeit a few were scorched. He briefly wondered why looters hadn't taken anything but was too busy looking at this room.

As a ghost, he didn't really need a room. It was mostly just a casual habit. True, he'd "sleep" there but he didn't need it. Everything in there was an ectoplasmic decoration to echo this place. In here, everything had more substance and he couldn't help but look at everything with a new light.

He picked through some drawers and a cabinet, finding nothing. His desk had some brittle papers of unfinished math homework and the start of a book report. His bed was dusty and the springs were stiff from years of neglect, but surprisingly still usable.

He opened his closet and was surprised to find normal clothes. He expected that much, but after existing with the same spandex suit for so long he'd long forgotten about any sort of alternative outfit he used to wear.

His shirts were mostly the same white shirt with a nondescript red circle logo. He fingered the fabric, trying to remember anything about it. He pushed a few shirts back and found an unused black suit and tie towards the back. He looked down and saw a few pairs of the same, red and white converse sneakers.

He moved over to the dresser and found a few pairs of somewhat baggy jeans neatly folded in one of the drawers. Out of curiosity more than anything he stripped out of his spandex suit.

For a moment, he actually just stood there. Yeah, it's weird, but when you think about it, he'd been wearing the same clothing for years without ever taking it off. He tossed the spandex material to the side and took a white shirt off the rack along with the converse and jeans. Within minutes, he had a clean ensemble of clothes on him for the first time in decades.

He walked over to a dusty, cracked mirror and looked at himself again.

This time he braced himself. Back then, it was a complete shock and he hadn't really appreciated it. Now, it seemed right. The icicle blue eyes under messy, raven bangs seemed to fit perfectly. The clothes fit him exactly and he couldn't help but feel like this was…right.

His attention was drawn to the corner of the room by an unusual glow of green in the mirror. He spun around and saw his spandex suit- or rather what was left of it. He could still see the black and white material but it was quickly dissolving into green goo around the edges. Within seconds, the entire suit decomposed and the glowing goo was vaporizing.

Danny turned away when the last of the vapor disappeared. He knew that the suit was just some ectoplasmic representation of the clothes he died in, but it was still eerie to see the thing dissolve away.

He saw an old, purple backpack under the desk and picked it up. It was surprisingly still good. He took out some decaying textbooks and a few loose pieces of paper before putting in the bear for his sister along with some of the clothes there, including some light blue pajamas from some drawers.

He plopped the backpack on the bed and looked himself over in the mirror again. Everything about it seemed too familiar; …too…"right". He couldn't explain it, but it felt "right" to look like that. The same way "Fenton" sounded "right".

He stared at the figure in the mirror.

"Danny Fenton." He murmured. He couldn't shake himself out of it. It fit.

He headed outside with the backpack and clothes breathing in the crisp, night air as he backtracked to his previous path to the cemetery.

He passed more shops and service stores before he came to some high, black iron gates with headstones behind it. He opened the creaky gate and explored the field of markers. His spirits dropped as he failed to find a glowing, green portal in the area.

Struggling, he tried to recall his first appearance. His mind had been so fuzzy, but something had to be…

Branches.

His eyes snapped open at the memory. He distinctly remembered walking through brambles. He looked around and spotted a treeline in the distance. He picked up the pace and headed over.

He maneuvered through the brambles and tree trunks before he found his prize. In the wooded area was a clearing leading to more graves and hidden behind a statue was a swirling, green portal. Danny could've jumped for joy, but chose, instead, to jump through the portal.

His worry and apprehension turned to relief as he entered the familiar, buzzing activity of his parent's lab in the Ghost Zone.

"Mom! Dad! Jazz!" he called. After a few seconds, no one answered. He assumed they were still out.

He walked over to the computer and booted it up. He went to Google and typed in whatever he could think about with the address there, but no results came up. He tried again with a bit of general history of the area, but it seemed like local news wasn't terribly important there.

He sighed and pushed himself deeper into the chair. He decided to put on some headphones and logged in to Doomed.

_GhostBoy: Hello?_

_Fryer-Tuck: Dude! Wassup? You still game?_

_GhostBoy: No, I'm pretty drained tonight…a lot of stuff's…happened._

_Chaos: I'm in the same boat._

_GhostBoy: Really?_

_Chaos: You wouldn't believe me if I told you._

_GhostBoy: Okay. Anyway, I just wanted to talk a bit and the computer was right there. So…_

_Fryer-Tuck: It's cool, man. So have you thought about coming to visit?_

_GhostBoy: Probably not. I mean I-_

Danny paused for a second. Now he had a means to get to this "Amity", so it was more reachable than before and-

Wait.

_GhostBoy: Wait, did you say Amity like Amity Park?_

_Fryer-Tuck: Yeah._

_GhostBoy: Oh my God! I was…travelling and I ended up in this small town. I remember there was a bakery that said Amity Park Bakery._

_Fryer-Tuck: The one on Krueger?_

_GhostBoy: Yeah!_

_Fryer-Tuck: They make the best cinnamon buns._

_GhostBoy: …_

_Chaos: If you're in the area we should totally hang out!_

_Fryer-Tuck: Dude that'd be so awesome!_

_GhostBoy: I guess so._

_Fryer-Tuck: Cool! Why don't you meet us up tomorrow at the Nasty Burger. How about 6?_

_GhostBoy: Sure, sounds good._

_Chaos: See you then!_

_Fryer-Tuck: Bye, dude._

_Player [Chaos] has logged off._

_Player [Fryer-Tuck] has logged off._

_Player [Fryer-Tuck] has logged on._

_Fryer-Tuck: Dude. What's your name? It'll be kinda weird if we don't know who to look for._

_GhostBoy: Oh, yeah. My name's Danny._

_Fryer-Tuck: Cool. My name's Tucker. I'll be the totally awesome guy in the red beret. See you then._

_Player [Fryer-Tuck] has logged off._

Danny logged off of his account and reflected on everything. Tonight had been…eventful to say the least.

He suddenly heard the front door opening and his parents walking down the steps; both talking.

Danny was suddenly struck with absolute fear. He wasn't himself! He wasn't Danny Phantom anymore! He closed his eyes and wished he'd just disappear, or at least turn back to a ghost.

He felt something cold wash over him starting from his waist. He felt it tingle as it went up and down his body, but kept his eyes shut.

"I'm tellin' ya, Mads. I've got just the thing for the portal."

"I'm sure, Jack. We're so close I can- Oh." She stopped in her tracks and Danny could feel the gaze on him. "Danny, what are you doing?"

For a moment, he just stood there, shocked. He opened his eyes and saw his parents looking at him with mild concern. He looked down at himself.

His old black and white jumpsuit was back.

He didn't have a reflective surface to look at himself, but he'd bet his eyes and hair were back too.

"I, uh, I-I…Well…ya see…" He stumbled helplessly over his words. "I was, uh, playing on the computer here. Doomed, ya know? And I, uh, I-I…"

"Well, Danny, I assumed you were on the computer, it's still on behind you. What I wanted to know was why you were just standing there with your eyes shut."

Danny grasped for any explanation. "Oh, it's, uh, this, uh, _zen_ thing! Yeah! Stand still and keep your eyes closed…to, uh, _feel the universe_ and stuff."

His mother furrowed her brows in concern. "Danny, I'm pretty sure 'zen' doesn't apply if you don't have a body."

"Oh, yeah! Would ya look at that! Oh, darn. Tricked by the internet again." He laughed nervously and trotted off to his bedroom.

* * *

Maddie Phantom looked after the son as he floated up the stairs. She knew he was still in that awkward teenage phase, but this was weird even for that.

Jack shrugged it off. Not because he didn't care, but because he knew his son was strong enough to pull through whatever was causing this weird behavior.

The stout scientist walked over to his graphs and charts and began reading them off. He suddenly stopped at one.

"Maddie!" he exclaimed. She rushed over and looked at the readouts. In seconds the duo were analyzing each readout until they looked at each other.

Wordlessly, they opened the safety doors to the Portal and were welcomed by the green swirl of the portal's glow.

"Oh, Jack." She breathed. "It works."

They stood together in front of the eerie green glow, basking in their accomplishment for a while longer. Neither said anything, but both of them knew how happy each other were.

* * *

Danny was oblivious to his parents' current odd romance downstairs and went to his room. He brought along the purple backpack, clothes, and bear. Jazz would likely be at the library for days; he'd show her when she returned.

Looking around his room, a lot of things were the same, but different. The scorch marks were still there along with the old bed, but the dust, the homework and the details were all missing. He opened his closet, but it was empty. The jeans drawer was the same. Though, his cracked mirror was still in place.

He looked himself over in it. He confirmed his suspicions, his hair was its usual white and his eyes were green again.

He remembered the odd feeling down in the lab and concentrated on it again.

He kept his eyes open and saw a bright, white ring form around his waist. It vanished when he lost concentration in surprise, but he willed it back into existence. It slowly crawled up and down his body until he looked himself in the mirror.

His hair was black, his eyes were blue. He checked his neck. _Ba-Bump_. He lowered it and stared in shock. The dusty clothes he had taken had even materialized, too.

He spent about five minutes or so swapping between his ghost self and human self. Eventually, he got exhausted from the ability and settled back down to his bed in his ghost form.

The bed was still soft and springy. He thought about it. His parents don't come in and there was no school to go to in the ghost zone. Essentially, he could sleep in this room forever if he wanted.

A thought came to him.

He let the white rings wash over him again. He changed into the light blue pajamas he took. He laid down on the bed and for the first time in years, he did what he thought he'd never experience again.

That night, he dreamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original AN: Admittedly, not my favorite chapter. It's pretty necessary, though it's slow. My favorite so far is actually the next one. I have a couple chapters ready, but I wanted to space them out instead of throwing them at you until I ran out of chapters. It gives me time to write more.
> 
> I just wanted to say that something's come up in my life. I will still update, but updates will be somewhat far between. Don't worry, I'll put the next one up soon.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this installment.
> 
> Until next time.
> 
> -Crow
> 
> 2021 AN: Hnnnngnggngngng, still cringing. It does get better, but... hnnnnnggg...  
> Thanks for reading.  
> -Crow

**Author's Note:**

> 2020 AN: It's a weird and kind of cringy to read over old chapters, but it's an interesting landmark to see where I've come and how far I've gone in my writing.
> 
> Happy Halloween everyone! Stay safe, wash your hands, etc!


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